The British Crown and Slavery: Evidence from Grenada Raises the Question of Responsibility

New research reveals that Britain's King George IV, who ruled for a decade until 1830, personally profited from the labor of enslaved people on plantations in Grenada, which experts say increases pressure on the monarchy to confront its historical links to slavery, Reuters reports.

Independent researcher Desiree Baptis found a document from 1823–1824 in the National Archives in London, which reveals a payment of £1.000 (equivalent to around £103.132 today) from two Crown plantations in Grenada, where hundreds of enslaved people worked during the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries.

These funds, according to Baptis, were paid directly into the private treasury of King George IV, and contributed to his “lavish lifestyle.” Baptis, who researches colonialism and transatlantic slavery, is originally from Grenada and shared her findings with Reuters.

Baptis' research was confirmed by Professor Edmond Smith of the University of Manchester and Dr Nick Draper, founder of the Legacies of British Slave-ownership project at University College London.

Smith, who is leading a doctoral research project on the royal family's role in slavery, said that as more material is uncovered, "the monarchy's profit from slavery will become increasingly apparent." He noted that this payment "may only represent the tip of the iceberg."

Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

King Charles supported the research led by Professor Smith, after the Guardian newspaper reported in 2023 that King William III had received £1689 in shares in the Royal Africa Company, which transported thousands of enslaved Africans to America, in 1.000.

"This evidence fits into a long-term pattern of colonial exploitation by the British royal family, including repeated attempts to find new sources of revenue from the Caribbean colonies," Smith said.

King Charles expressed regret over slavery in a speech to Commonwealth leaders in 2022. However, as Baptis points out, no British monarch has publicly acknowledged that the crown owned and profited from enslaved people in the Caribbean.

Baptis' research, which stems from her independent work "The Enslaved - His Majesty's Property: George IV and Grenada," comes as a global movement for reparations for slavery is growing, particularly across the Caribbean and Africa. However, some European leaders have been accused of opposing even opening the debate.